Avery Dennison has received ISO 17025 accreditation for its Mentor, Ohio, USA, Innovation Center for the third year in a row. The Center was originally accredited in June 2017. ISO 17025 certification covers 55 laboratory tests, conducted at the facility, for adhesives and pressure sensitive films and label materials.

The Center’s accreditation means that suppliers who purchase from Avery Dennison do not have to locate and work with a third-party ISO 17025 laboratory for testing, which can be a time and cost intensive step in the process of qualifying materials.

“Since we became an ISO 17025 laboratory two years ago, our customers’ need for lab testing has grown, and we are working with new customers who learned about Avery Dennison based on this new capability, ” says Paul Purdef, Marketing Director, Durables, Avery Dennison Label and Graphic Materials. “This is driven by customers across the industries we serve, especially those in the automotive segment who see value in reducing the cost and time involved when working with third party testing labs.”

ISO 17025 is an internationally recognized standard that’s specified by manufacturers across a wide range of industries. The standard requires laboratories, such as Avery Dennison’s Mentor Innovation Center, to prove high levels of competence for both laboratory management and technical competence.

“From our customers’ perspective, our ISO 17025 certification offers clear advantages,” adds Purdef. “We help them to respond faster, and with greater cost-effectiveness, to many OEM requests. The OEMs they serve, and others across the value chain develop an even greater confidence in Avery Dennison, our lab capabilities and the data we provide to support their key projects.”

The renewal accreditation audit and the original 2017 audit were both conducted by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). A2LA is the largest U.S.-based multi-disciplinary accreditation body. With more than 30 years of ISO standards and development use, and a strong reputation for quality and thoroughness, its services are widely seen as a “gold standard” in the industry. The company claims its insistence on working with this recognized leader can help customers be even more confident in Avery Dennison laboratory services.